


Things We Missed

by delusionalking



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Miscommunication, covers lionheart thru starfes, had to rework my whole outline when that angst in fleur de lis happened, these two will be the death of me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 09:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12503888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delusionalking/pseuds/delusionalking
Summary: Words have never been either of their strong points





	Things We Missed

**Author's Note:**

> Written for someone on twitter who wished to remain anonymous!
> 
> If you're interested in having a fic written by me, you can contact me on twitter at @delusionalking!

_ Go after him _ , the small voice inside his head pleaded and even though he wanted to,  _ needed _ to, Leo felt rooted to the spot.  His mouth moved wordlessly as he watched Sena’s back, watched as he walked out the door and away from the house.  Away from Leo, without so much as a backwards glance.

_ Ah, so it’s really all over now. _

Ruka shifted nervously, her eyes darting between him and the now empty space in front of their door.

“It’s fine,” he says, voice raspy as he tried to choke down the feeling of utter loss that threatened to consume him.  Another glance from Ruka proved that she didn’t believe him and he couldn’t blame her; after all, he didn’t believe himself.  Things were very much  _ not _ fine and they both knew that.

Gently, Leo took the stack of papers from her hands and turned to once again hide away in his room.  He paused in the doorway, thinking about how Sena had reminded him to eat.  Without glancing back at her, he said, “I… I’ll see you at dinner,” before locking himself in his room once more.

* * *

 

Would things have gotten better had he reached out?  Would Leo have agreed to come back to school if Izumi had said any of the multitudes of things he wanted to say?  It was a nice thought but a naïve one.  His king was stubborn and Izumi didn’t trust his own tongue not to spew hurtful lies instead of his true feelings.

Izumi took a deep breath as he turned to watch the tide caress the sand, depositing shells and seaweed for brief moments before pulling them back under the water.  The song playing through his headphones – one of the many Leo had composed for him – mixed with the steady sound of the surf, creating something that was new and familiar all at once.

_ Leo would like this _ , Izumi thought, already picturing that idiot yelling about inspiration and rushing to scribble notes on the nearest surface.  A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he turned away from the sea.

Maybe some day, things would get better and Leo would return to being a constant in his life.  His king would move forward again, finding new inspiration and becoming like a free-flowing river, instead of the stagnant pool he was now.  He didn’t know when, or even if, his king would find inspiration again but until he did, fighting in his stead didn’t seem all that bad.  Until Leo returned, Izumi swore that he would protect the Knights that his king loved.

* * *

 

The world might be vast and full of things Leo had never seen before but nothing could really beat the feeling of a attending a festival at home.  Mama had even lent him a yukata, though Leo had grumbled about it when he’d learned it was from Mama’s middle school days.  Even so, he was glad that his friend was with him, particularly after Mama had ditched him during their travels.

Leo could feel inspiration bubbling up inside of them as he tried to take in all the sights, sounds and smells.  It was so close but then it faded away quickly when Mama’s voice cut through the noise.

“Are you going to watch the live, Leo-san?  Even if it’s-”

“Even if it’s Knights?” Leo asked.  He could already hear the music blasting, getting everyone excited for the fireworks.  Chewing on his lip for a moment in thought, he tried to imagine what it would be like to watch  Knights as an outsider.  “I guess I could.  It’s not like they’ll know I’m here.”  With that, he headed towards the stage, making sure to keep to the back of the crowd so he wouldn’t be seen.

Leo found a spot, wedged between two food carts, that gave him a decent enough view of the stage.  There was a unit he didn’t recognize onstage as well, but he ignored them, eyes focused only on Knights.  Well, one Knight in particular.

As always, Sena’s performance was graceful and beautiful.  He seemed to glide across the stage with ease, entrancing both the audience and Leo with his performance.  Everything felt familiar – from the way Sena danced to the way he would gesture to cheering fans – and yet so different at the same time.  Each time Sena would turn to smile at one of the others on stage, Leo felt a twinge in his chest because that smile was no longer directed at him.

_ Ah, how sad.  A fallen king in love with his former knight.  This truly is perfect inspiration.   _ Scrambling for a pen, Leo patted at his clothing before remembering he’d left his notebook and pen back at Mama’s home.  Before he could complain, however, a notebook appeared in front of his face.

Looking up, he saw Mama holding out the notebook to him with a pen in the other hand.  “I thought you might need it, Leo-san.  You did always go on about how he was your greatest inspiration.”

Leo sputtered as his face heated up, turning him an embarrassing shade of red.  Though he couldn’t really deny Mama’s claim, so all he did was snatch the notebook and pen out of his hands and kneel down to begin composing.

For anyone else, composing at a concert might have been difficult, but for Leo, he simply let his delusions take over.  It left his world filled with his own song and Sena dancing on stage.  He could vaguely feel Mama beside him, a warm presence keeping him safe as he lost himself to the music.

When Leo finally set down his pen, it was to the fireworks finale and Knights and the other unit were leaving the stage.  His eyes followed Sena’s form until it disappeared backstage, completely ending his dream-like composition state.

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you went backstage,” Mama said, crouching down beside Leo.  “I think they’ll be happy to see you.  Besides, you  _ are _ going back.”

Twirling the pen in his fingers, Leo thought for a moment, tempted by the suggestion.  Part of him wanted nothing more than to run backstage and throw his arms around Sena but another part, a much larger part, kept him rooted to the spot with fear.  He had seen their performance and knew that they no longer needed him.

“It’s fine, Mama!  I’ll be showing up soon enough to surprise them, anyway!  Besides, they’re probably tired,” he said, forcing a smile onto his face.  Whether or not Mama bought it, he didn’t know, because he stood up quickly and started walking away from the performance area.

He decided, then and there, that when he did return, he would no longer participate in Knights activities.

* * *

 

There hadn’t been time to talk during the chaos of the Sports Festival.  As Leo cheered alongside Ritsu and Arashi, his eyes met Sena’s as he ran past.  All he gave him was a small smile and a wave of his pompoms.

Later, when Sena ran back over to Ritsu after his event were finished, Leo was long gone.  They would see each other properly at school soon enough, after all.

* * *

 

Judgment.  That idiot was gone for  _ months _ and then he came back just to declare Judgment?  On top of that, he threatened to disband them; disband the very Knights that Izumi had worked so hard to protect.

_ I did all this for you, _ Izumi thought as he glared a hole into the floor.  Had there even been a point to keeping Knights going in his stupid king’s absence?  If he was just going to disband them anyway…  Maybe they should just give up.  If he was lucky, maybe Leo would call him back to his side.

“Oh, Sena-senpai!  You’re here early!”

A voice broke through Izumi’s brooding thoughts and he turned to find Kasa-kun standing in the doorway.  The first year was already in his practice clothes and as Izumi continued to stare, he started to fidget nervously.  Deciding to be nice, Izumi turned away.

“You’re early as well,” he said, not knowing what else to do. 

“Oh, well, I wanted to get a bit more practice in, to make sure that I won’t hold any of my senpai back!  I know I’m still learning, and that this whole thing is mostly my fault… But I’ll do my best!  I promise!” Tsukasa declared and the sheer earnestness of his words had Izumi turning around again.

Eyeing the youngest Knight, Izumi thought about what would happen if they lost.  If they lost Judgment… Then all of Kasa-kun’s dreams of being in Knights would be crushed.  He’d had just about enough of seeing dreams broken because of this school.  If fighting meant keeping that dream alive, then Izumi supposed he wouldn’t mind pointing his sword at his king this one time.

“Show me what you’re having trouble with and I’ll help you.  We did tell you to rely on us more, didn’t we?”

* * *

 

Leo ducked behind a pillar, hoping that Sena hadn’t seen him.  Well, even if he had seen him, it wasn’t like Sena could interrupt a live just to come to him.  Sena was nothing but professional when it came to performing, after all.  

From his position behind the stage, Leo could freely admire Sena and the rest of Knights.  They really put on a beautiful performance and he knew that he could have never gone through with disbanding them.  The four of them had made Knights their own; made it into more of a family than a unit and the thought made Leo’s chest tighten.

Even though Judgment was over, even though they had all welcomed him back with open arms, Leo still felt as though he didn’t belong.  He was still just a naked king without a home.

* * *

 

Exhaustion wasn’t a strong enough word to convey how Izumi felt at that moment.  It was early in the morning, with the sun hiding below the horizon and stars dotting the dark sky.  StarFes had dragged on for what seemed like forever and all he wanted to do right now was head home and sleep for a good portion of the day.

He hung up his costume carefully before pulling on his coat and gloves.  A quick glance around the room showed that he and Naru-kun were the only ones left.  Kasa-kun’s parents had picked him up immediately after the live, Kuma-kun had mumbled something about finding his Trickstar friend while Ou-sama… Well, who could really keep track of that idiot anyway?

“Oi, Naru-kun.  You have a way to get home, right?” Izumi stopped in the doorway, glancing back at the other model.

Arashi smiled at him and waved him off.  “Don’t worry about me, Izumi-chan.  My family came to watch tonight too, so I’ll go meet up with them.”

Satisfied with her answer, Izumi left the studio and started making his way out of the school and to the front gates to meet his parents.

A chill crept its way down his spine as soon as he stepped outside and he picked up his pace.  The last thing he needed was to get a cold during the holiday break.

Something icy landed on Izumi’s nose and he looked up to see that snow had started to gently fall.  He watched it silently, enjoying the beauty of it.  The moment seemed magical; that was until a cry of “Ah!  Inspiration has come!” came from his right.

Izumi’s head snapped in the direction of the voice and his eyes widened as he saw his king kneeling on the snowy ground.  Leo was furiously scribbling in his notebook and he didn’t seem to notice that the snow was soaking through the knees of his pants.

“Ou-sama!”

When his shout got no response, Izumi marched over to the crouching figure.  “Leo-kun,” he tried instead, hoping the old name would get his king’s attention.

It worked like a charm; Leo let out a surprised yell, turning to Izumi with wide eyes.  He calmed down quickly, however, when he realized who had called his name.

“Twice in the same night?  Is Sena feeling nostalgic?” Leo asked, a small smile replacing his look of shock.

“Why haven’t you gone home?” Izumi replied, choosing to ignore his king’s question.  It wasn’t like he had an answer for him anyway, as even he didn’t understand why he slipped up when addressing the other boy.

Leo watched him for a moment before picking up his notebook and pen. “The falling snow gave me inspiration!  It looked so pretty that I had to capture the feeling in song!”

The look of awe on Leo’s face as he looked up at the sky sent Izumi’s heart racing.  There was something about the way Leo looked at that moment, with the snow in his hair catching the light from the lampposts and making it glow like a halo, that had Izumi thinking that he had never seen anything more beautiful.

“Come home with me,” Izumi blurted out.  The surprise on Leo’s face probably mirrored his own but he bit his tongue to keep from taking those words back.  They’d spent too long dancing around each other ever since Leo’s return.  While he didn’t know if things could ever be completely fixed, he might as well take this chance to try.

Reaching out, Izumi grabbed Leo’s arm gently so he wouldn’t run away.  “Ou-sama… Please?  I’m not going to let you stay out here, so come on.”  With that, he pulled Leo to his feet and started to walk towards the gates.

At first, Leo refused to move, staring at Izumi with wide eyes.  “I can go to Sena’s house?”

With a small smile, Izumi glanced back at his king.  “Yeah, the real Sena House.  It’s been awhile since you came over, hasn’t it Ou-sama?”

There was a moment of silence as Leo stared at him, his eyes somehow getting wider.  Izumi had to keep himself from laughing at that as his smile grew.  Opening his arms, he simply waited for Leo to make a move.

Izumi was half expecting Leo to just run away again but his worry dissipated as the shorter boy threw himself into Izumi’s arms.  Hugging Leo close, Izumi simply stood there, relishing the feel of Leo’s arms clinging tightly to him.

“I missed you,” he whispered, pressing his face into Leo’s hair to hide the blush he could feel spreading across his cheeks.

As Leo gripped his jacket and whispered “I missed you too,” Izumi felt that, despite them having been broken, there was a certain warmth in finally coming together to mend the cracks.


End file.
